1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to multi-ball tow hitches. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a tow hitch having three tow balls that rotate around the longitudinal axis of the tow hitch shank shaft.
2. Description of Related Art
Tow hitches are commonly used for towing one vehicle behind another. When attaching a towing vehicle to a towed vehicle, a hitch is used that includes a tow ball and a couple. Over the years there have been numerous variations of tow hitches. One type of hitch is a receiver hitch. The receiver part of the hitch is what actually attaches to the tow vehicle. The receiver is a large square tube that accepts a shank or trunnion. The receiver tube is securely mounted to the frame of the towing vehicle, such as by bolting or welding to the vehicle chassis. The receiver is reinforced and provided with an opening for receiving one end of the shank of the tow hitch. The shank is smaller in cross-section and slides into the receiver and has the tow ball attached thereto, such as by welding. The shank is secured to the receiver with a pin that slides through both the receiver side walls and the shank and is held securely in place with a clip or lock.
A problem with the single ball tow hitches is that different trailers are desired to be towed behind the same vehicle, and different vehicles frequently have couples that differ in size and shape and thus do not fit or mate with the tow ball attached to the shank of the tow hitch. In order to tow a trailer with a non-matching couple, the tow ball must be removed and replaced with a different size tow ball which causes delay and inconvenience. To overcome some of the difficulties of dealing with different size tow balls, three ball hitches were developed. However, many of these hitches were deficient in one way or another. For instance, the tow balls must be removed from the receiver attached to the towing vehicle. Typically, when the vehicle owner adapts the vehicle for towing, the hitch is furnished with one size tow ball that is suited for the trailer to be towed. It is often the case that a vehicle owner has several different size and weight trailers that must be towed, requiring the vehicle owner to change tow hitches for the different loads that may be encountered during the towing. However, the vehicle owner must remove the shank having the tow ball affixed thereto and exchange it for the correct size. The exchange is sometimes difficult as it sometimes requires tools and other times the parts have rusted causing removal of the shank to be difficult.
Once it is known how much weight will be towed and that the weight does not exceed the maximum towing capacity of the tow vehicle, the proper tow ball may be selected. Tow balls come in several sizes depending upon their load rating. For example a 2 inch diameter ball may have a load rating of 5,000 pounds while a 2 5/16 inch ball may have a load rating of 7,000 pounds. Many pickups and SUVs come factory-equipped with a Class III hitch, which is the most popular class of hitch. Most hitches bolt to the vehicle, and while some are welded, a bolt-on installation is the method preferred for attachment, for hauling any load (car, boat, camper, or whatever) a Class III hitch can handle up to 5,000 pounds. For heavier boats or campers, a Class IV hitch (up to 7,500 pounds) is required.
With the above described deficiencies in mind, the present invention is of great convenience to a vehicle owner to be able to have a tow hitch wherein several different sized tow balls may be easily selected depending on the load rating.